Who will she choose?
by ThReE gIrLs WiTh PoCkY
Summary: Sakuno has to make up her mind, Ryoma or Fuji? . . . alternat endings.
1. A walk to remember

**a/n: this is my 1st Pot fanfic. Sorry if it is terrible. read and review, i don't care if you're anonymous. critics, give me your best shot! hope you like the story!**

**disclaimer: i do not own Prince of Tennis; if i did there would be more romance.**

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"Ryoma-sama!" a red-headed girl yelled, waving her hands wildly. 

_'Not her again! Why does she always have to show up when I'm trying to focus?' _Ryoma thought to himself bitterly. Now in tenth grade Ryoma was still as cold as ever ...

"Hello, Ryoma-kun,"

... Well, maybe he was a little less cold. _'The only up-side about have Oskada around means that Sakuno is usually close by ... did I just call her Sakuno? Oh, wait, I better say hi back huh?'_

"Ryuzaki," Ryoma nodded his head acknowledging her. Just then the rest of his team mates began to show up for practice. _'Finally, they show up, where were they?'_

"Hey, Ochibi, did you miss me?" his cat-like senpai asked while giving him a huge hug, "I guess that's a silly question, huh Ochibi? You were to busy with Sakuno-chan!"

"Kikumaru-senpai!" Sakuno cried in embarrassment. She blushed a very light pink because of her senpais' remark. Ryoma just lowered his cap and began to walk over to the tennis courts.

"Where were all of you?" Ryoma inquired.

"Nya, you didn't here? All of the older students got held back because of a test," Momo replied running up to the foursome.

"It was a long test," Fuji added.

"Yes, but there is a 90 chance that we all passed ... except Momo, his is only 80" Inui said walking up to the group.

"WHAT? Why is my percentage lower?"

"You spent yesterday afternoon with Tachibana-chan, so you got less studying done," Inui replied pushing his glasses up.

"Nya, did you finally ask her out Momo?" Eiji asked playfully.

"No, he didn't ask me out Eiji," a girl replied.

"An-chan, what are you doing here?" Sakuno asked.

"There is no practice at my school today, so I thought that I'd watch you guys practice!" An replied, smiling all the while.

"That's great! Then you can cheer with us!" Tomo screamed waving her arms in the air.

"I don't think so," Everyone turned to Fuji who seemed to be a bit disappointed.

"Why not?" everyone asked.

"Tezuka and Oishi have the flu, Kawamaru has an errand to run for his father and Karou is missing," Fuji replied, it looks like there is no practice today.

"Well, what do we do? We have time to kill!" Eiji screamed.

"Let's go out for burgers!" Momo said going off with An to his favorite burger joint, followed by Eiji who was going to pay.

"I'm going home." Ryoma replied, yawning and wondering how Karupin was doing.

"I'm going where ever Ryoma-sama is going!" Tomo-chan yelled, squealing and.

"0.00001 chance that he will let Oskada the house." Inui said, "I'm off to work on my juice, ja!"

Everyone left, except for two certain teens.

"Fuji-senpai, it seems that we've been forgotten," Sakuno said turning to her senpai, "What should we do?"

"Would you like to go on a walk?" Fuji offered his hand to Sakuno.

"Sure," Sakuno replied blushing.

"You know, we never really do talk to each other. If we do, we are usually with Echizen or the others," Fuji said trying to start a conversation.

"You're right Fuji-senpai. What do you like to do other than tennis?" Sakuno asked.

"I like photography a lot. I take a lot of candid shot's, would you like to see them sometime?" Fuji inquired, hoping that she would say yes.

Sakuno was a bit taken aback at this question. Was it just her, or was her senpai acting funny? As she thought this to herself she realized that she hadn't answered his question. She closed her eyes and smiled, "Of course."

This remark makes Fuji open his eyes wide, giving her a full view of his beautiful blue orbs. _'She certainly is different than before, isn't she?'_

He was right; Sakuno had stopped putting her hair in braids. She now had layered hair with various colored highlights (aquamarine, pink, and purple). She was wearing the same kind of uniform, but her body had matured to that of a young woman's' instead of a school girls. He realized that she hadn't just changed, but she was beautiful.

"Fuji-senpai, are you okay, you've been kind of quiet," he turned to see that she was a bit worried, "Have I offended you?"

"Never Sakuno, It's just that I was thinking that I would have liked to have had my camera a couple minutes ago ..." Fuji smiled his casual smile which made Sakuno blush. _'Why am I blushing, usually when I blush it has to do with Ryoma-kun, but this blush came out of its own will'_

"Arigato, Fuji-senpai," Sakuno said.

"You're not the shy girl that I used to know are you Sakuno? You're growing up. I've got to get going soon, would you like me to walk you home?" Fuji asked. _'It's five o'clock, I need to get home, but whatever mom wants me to do can wait, Sakuno is important.'_

"Oh, aren't you two the cutest couple?"

"What?" the two said as they turned to find an elderly woman.

"What a lucky girl to have such a handsome boy," the woman leaned in closer whispering to Sakuno, "He's a keeper honey." Sakuno just blushed, _'When was the last time I blushed this much?'_

"Thank You obaa-san," Fuji said to the woman giving a small bow.

"Handsome and polite, oh, he's definitely a keeper," the woman said to Sakuno again, "Ja ne!"

"Ja ne" Sakuno said still blushing, but she felt comfortable now. There was silence for a while. When they were nearly to Sakuno's house Fuji decided to break the silence.

"I guess I shouldn't tell Ryoma that we're secretly dating, hmm?" Fuji said.

"Fuji-sempai!" Sakuno cried, "Stop teasing me!"

"Just kidding," they realized that they were already standing in front of Sakuno's house.

"Ja!" Sakuno waved good bye to her senpai and entered the house.

"I'm home obaa-san!"

"Hello Sakuno, you seem to be in a good mood."

"I am"

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**a/n: hope you like it! see you later!**


	2. Trying to straighten it all out

**a/n: Hey! This is Nakima-chan, I was so happy that I got reviews that I decided to write a short chapter! By the way, this is a story that is kind of out of experience, so if it seems kind of weird private message me and I'll explain. Hope you like it, even though it is short! REVIEWS ARE MANDATORY! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. If I did there would be more scenes with Sakuno!**

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_Chapter 2: Trying to straighten it all out _

That night Ryoma was getting ready to go to bed when he let out a groan. He put his hand on his chest and wondered what had happened. _'That was weird. It feels like there was a person stabbing my chest.'_

At that same time Sakuno was also thinking about what had happened that afternoon. _'I've never seen Fuji-senpai do that before, what's wrong with him. Maybe I should write down all this in my diary, it always helps me straighten out my thoughts.'_ She took her diary out and began to pen.

_Dear Shi-chan,_

_Today was an eventful day. I went with Tomo-chan to see Ryoma-kun, but practice was cancelled, so we didn't get to see him. I walked home with Fuji-senpai, he told me that he liked photography and I told him I'd look at them sometime. He is really nice and handsome, millions of girls would have killed to go on a walk with him, but I like Ryoma-kun right? I don't like Fuji-senpai do I? _

_Yours,_

_Sakuno-chan_

Sakuno gave up and closed the book. _'That didn't help at all.'_ She thought brushing her hair and wondering what to do. She decided on calling Tomo-chan, since she always seemed to know what to do.

_"Hey, Sakuno-chan, what's up?" _

"Hey Tomo-chan, just wanted to know how your afternoon turned out," Sakuno lied. She knew her friend wouldn't be a good listener if she was still thinking about Ryoma.

_"It was awesome! I followed Ryoma-sama home, but he wouldn't let me in. Then I ran into Horio-kun and we argued about his stupid two years of tennis experience. What did you do? I didn't see you go off with An-chan, so I figured you just went home."_

"No, I took a walk with Fuji-senpai, and-,"

_"What?!" _Tomoka screamed into the phone. _'Hmm, maybe this wasn't such a good idea,'_ Sakuno thought, but she told Tomo-chan everything, excluding the old woman.

_"That's great Sakuno-chan! I can't believe that you took a walk with Fuji-senpai. I didn't think he knew girls existed, it's amazing that you got to walk home with him!"_

"Tomo-chan, normally this wouldn't bother me, but there's one part I haven't told you everything."

_"SPILL!"_

"On our way to my house an old woman stopped us ... she said that we made a cute couple-,"

_"And that he was a keeper, right?"_

"Ah! Tomo-chan, how'd you know?"

_"An old woman stopped me and Horio while we were arguing, she said the same thing."_

"Weird, sorry Tomo-chan I have to get going."

_"Okay! Ja ne!"_

"Ja!"

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The next day at school there was an early morning tennis practice. Fuji was heading into the locker room when he heard a voice.

"You like Sakuno-chan, don't you?" Fuji turned to see who was talking.

"What? Who are you?"

"Don't try to deny it. You think that she is cute and innocent, but you can't ask her out because she likes Ryoma-sama." Tomoka said stepping out of the shadows.

"Oskada-chan?" Fuji asked puzzled. _'How does she know so much?'_

"Listen to me Fuji-senpai. I have a proposition for you ..."

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**a/n: Sorry for the short chapter. I'm trying to figure out were to go from here. I think I know what I want to do for the ending, but I 'm not completely sure yet.**

**REVIEWS ARE MANDATORY!**


	3. Filler

Hi

Read and review! Sorry for the short chappie!

Enjoy

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Ryoma woke up late that morning.

_'Shoot, I missed morning practice! Ryuzaki-sensei is gonna kill me!' _Ryoma thought dismally as he headed out the door. He ran around the corner hoping that he could at least be on time to his English class.

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_'Shoot, I'm going to be late for English! Obaa-chan is going to kill me!'_ Sakuno thought dismally as she headed out the door. She ran around the corner hoping that she could be in time for her English class. **(a/n: hmmm, where have I heard this before?)** She was off to a good start until she tripped ... over her hair. She was now flat on her face.

_'Great, what else can go wrong?' _then Sakuno felt something kick her side.

"Aaaaah!"

_'Wait a second, I know that voice!' _she thought. She heard a thud and felt something on top of her.

"Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked trying to turn and see who had tripped over her.

"Sakuno-chan?" Ryoma asked, finally realizing whom he had fallen over. _'Did I just call her Sakuno-chan? I must be going crazy!'_

_'Did he just call me Sakuno-chan? I must be going crazy! I probably just heard wrong, it was all just wishful thinking Sakuno.'_

"Eh, Ryoma-kun, could you get off of me?" Ryoma blushed, but obeyed. He reached to pull down his hat only to feel his fingers pinch the air near his forehead.

_'Shoot! Just great, the one time I start to blush and I'm not wearing my hat!'_ Ryoma thought.

"Ryoma-kun, are you okay? Why are you pinching the air?"

"Huh," Ryoma realized that he was still pinching the air in front of his forehead, "Oh, you wouldn't understand, it's an American thing!" Ryoma lied _'Please buy it!'_

"Hmm," Sakuno looked as if deep in thought, "I guess that makes senses."

_'Sigh, that was close.'_

_'An American thing? It sounds fishy, but Ryoma doesn't usually lie, so I'll let it go. Wait a minute, is he blush-'_

"So how was your afternoon?" Ryoma and Sakuno were both walking to school together.

"Oh, it was nice! I went on a walk with Fuji-senpai, and we talked a lot!" Ryoma's heart panged when he heard his senpai's name.

"Really? Your friend Tomoka stalked me home and tried to climb over the wall of my house, nothing new," Ryoma replied non-chalantly.

"Wow," Sakuno whispered to herself so that only she would here, but somehow Ryoma sensed what she was saying.

"What is it?"

"I was just thinking of how much we've changed since the first time we met. Don't get me wrong you haven't changed much; the only thing that is different is that you are able to open up more. I never would have dreamed you would be so talkative three years ago," Sakuno smiled and turned to Ryoma, "I like it."

"..." Ryoma didn't respond he was to busy thinking in that waffle boy brain of his. Hopping from square to square trying to make sense of what Sakuno had just said.

"Oh, Ryoma-kun are you okay? My you're spacey this morning, anyway we're here now."

Sakuno walked into the class room, but Ryoma took a detour and went start to the roof. _'I better clear my thoughts; the roof is the only place that I can go to think. No on will think to look for me there.' _And with that the high school freshmen started up the stairs.

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Momo was whistling while walking down the stairs. He was heading toward the office to check on Taka, who had hurt himself in practice. _'What a nice day ... I hope I see An today ... An has really nice hair ... An is pretty good at tennis ... An is really cute ... **(a/n I have concluded to end all Momo thoughts here, any further An thoughts will drive me crazy!)**'_

As Momo continued to think about his dream girl he saw Ryoma walking past him.

"Hi Echizen!"

"..." Ryoma didn't say hi back, he didn't even look Momo's way, he just kept walking.

_'He has a strange look on his face. What is it? Confusion? Anger? Jelousy ... Wait a minute! I think I know what is going on!' _Momo whipped out a text book out of now where.

"Let's see, according to _People for Dummies _confusion, anger, and jealousy could all be the result of some kind of mental abuse. Oh no! If he is going through mental abuse he will be no help to us in competitions! I must tell the other senpai's so we can fix this before the first match!"

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Silly momo senpai, sorry this chapter is short! I started school this week and let me tell you, it is not fun to do tons and tons of homework! Anyways reviews are mandatory!

chu!

nakima-chan


	4. important

Hello!

Review! Review! Review! I hope that you like this chapter there are probably 2 or 3 more chapters left. So I hope that you like this one it is important!

Ryoma dropped his bag on the ground and sat down. 'How do I feel about Ryuzaki? How do I feel about Ryuzaki?' The dumb boy kept asking himself this as he subconsciously sat up and walked over to the ledge.

'Do I like her … of course I like her, she is my best friend that is a girl … but is that all? Is that really all she is to me?' He kept thinking as he got closer and closer to the ledge.

Suddenly there was a loud slam behind him and he heard someone cry …

"OCHIBI! WHAT IS GOING ON? WHO IS MENTALLY ABUSING YOU?" Eiji spotted his Ochibi only centimeters away from the ledge.

"OCHIBI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING SO CLOSE TO THE LEDGE?!" Eiji started panicking. Ryoma turned and looked at his crazy senpai confused and annoyed that he had been found. As if it weren't enough for one hyperactive senpai to show up, two more showed up within seconds.

"Kikumaru-kun, what is wrong with … OH! ECHIZEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING SO NEAR THE LEDGE?" just then the Golden Pair both fainted simultaneously.

"RYOMA! STOP WORRING YOUR SENPAI AND GET HERE NOW OR YOU'RE OUT OF THE TENNIS CLUB!" Momo screamed as he stepped over his older team mates.

'Why did God give me such stupid senpai?' Ryoma thought as he started walking toward and angry Momo.

"Momo, how did you guys find me? You aren't stalking me again, like the time I went with Sakuno to get her racket restrung are you?" Ryoma teased. Momo just gritted his teeth.

"Why you ungrateful … did you just call Sa-chan Sakuno?" and with that the last senpai on the roof fainted.

'Correction, why did God give me such stupid girly senpai?' Ryoma thought as he lied down and began to read the latest tennis magazine waiting for his three crazy senpais' to wake up.

"Sakuno-chan!" Sakuno turned to find her crazy friend about to pounce on her.

"Ah! Tomo-chan, what is all of the excitement about?" Sakuno asked as she took out her onigiri.

"Oh, don't give me the innocent act, you took a walk with Fuji-senpai yesterday, and I want details!" Tomo yelled as if Sakuno wasn't sitting right nest to her.

"Details? What kind of details?" Sakuno asked.

"Sakuno, that doesn't work on me, I know that something happened yesterday, and I'm determined to find out what!" Tomoka crossed her arms across her chest and pouted so mean that the kind-hearted Sakuno couldn't stand lying, she sighed.

"Didn't we already talk about it last night?" Sakuno asked, 'I really don't want to have to talk about it.' Sakuno thought.

"I know, but all you told me was that you and him saw that old lady. Did look interested? Did he say you were pretty? Did he say he wanted to take another walk sometime?" Sakuno blushed like mad, but tried to maintain control.

"No, he didn't." Sakuno closed her eyes and bit into her onigiri.

"But you wish he did, don't you?" Sakuno opened her eyes and stared at the girl beside her.

'Tomo may be my friend, but sometimes she can be a bit nosey-'

"I SAID DIDN'T YOU?"

'Something tells me this is gonna be a long day.' Sakuno thought as she tried to think up ways to change the subject.

"Ryuzaki-san?" a voice behind her said. She turned and looked into clear blue eyes.

"Yes?"

"Ryuzaki-san, your tennis captain is in my class. She told me to tell you to meet her at lunch. Would you like me to walk you there?" Fuji closed his eyes and tilted his head smiling.

"Yes, thank you," she got up and turned to Tomo-chan, "I'm sorry some other time?"

Tomo smiled as if she were in on a joke, "Sure, anytime. Ja!"

"Ja!" Sakuno waved happily as she walked off with Fuji.

'Okay Fuji-senpai … I did my part … now it's all up to you …' Tomo laughed, 'this is too good … I'll get Ryoma … Sakuno will get Fuji-senpai … and all will be happy forever after.'

Sakuno and Fuji walked down the halls, they could both feel an awkward tension between them … it was one that would make one even as stoic as Ryoma shudder.

"Sakuno-chan, what is the matter?" Fuji stared into her with his crystal blue eyes that made her want to tell him everything, luckily she fought the feeling back.

"Oh, nothing Fuji-senpai, it's just that Tomo-chan is being Tomo … did you just call me Sakuno?" she began to blush many deep shades of red.

"That is your name, isn't it?" Fuji joked; he chuckled and patted her on the head like she was a cat.

"Yes, it is, but I'm just not used to it … does this mean I have to call you-"

"Shusuke-kun?" he chuckled again, "Not if it makes you uncomfortable … if you would like to then that would be fine."

"Alright … Shusuke-kun …." Sakuno mumbled like she used to.

"Sakuno-chan … next week your having a birthday party. Right?" Fuji inquired.

"Um, yeah … I'm turning 17 …. Obaa-chan said that it would be fine …. I'm inviting Tomo-chan and the Starters for the Girls and Boys Tennis Teams … and Horio … and Ann … and Akira … and …" Sakuno went on and on counting the names out on her fingers.

Fuji just smiled and nodded, but on the inside he was thinking, 'The plan is going perfectly.'

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	5. Rooftop Agreement

Hey this is Nakima-chan,

I hope you enjoy the chapter! It is very cute. Mostly it is to get the boys off of the roof, but it also sets up for the next chapter. Read and Review!

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Ryoma was on the roof leafing through the tennis magazine for the 27th time. By now he wasn't even pretending to focus on the page; the one thing that was on his mind was a certain Ryuzaki Sakuno.

'Why do I think about her all the time? Why do I care what she is thinking? Why am I not focusing as much on tennis?' Ryoma pondered and pondered until his little boy brain couldn't handle it anymore.

Groan

Ryoma turned to find that Eiji was beginning to regain consciousness. Ryoma pushed aside all of his thoughts and tried to focus on ways to not let his nosey senpais find out about these feelings.

"RYOMA LIKES SAKUNO!" Eiji yelled loud. Ryoma began to turn bright red in the face and turned to face his senpai in the face.

"EIJI-SENPAI!"

"What, you really do?" Eiji said innocently.

"Cut the innocent act Eiji-senpai! You know I don't like Sakuno … shoot," Ryoma felt like an idiot.

'I feel like such an idiot … I am an idiot … I'm a stupid idiot who is about to be questioned by his stupid snoopy senpai,' Ryoma thought angrily to himself.

"Ochibi! Did you just call her Sakuno?" Eiji shook his partner ferociously, "Oishi! Oishi! Ochibi is in love with Ryuzaki!"

At that Oishi's eyes automatically snapped open.

"WHAT?" Ryoma and Oishi both screamed. Oishi turned to Momo and started shaking him ferociously as well. "MOMO! ECHIZEN IS IN LOVE WITH RYUZAKI!"

Unlike Oishi Momo didn't wake up immediately, in fact he didn't wake up at all. He just kinda groaned and turned onto his side … at least until Eiji joined in.

"MOMO! OCHIBI LOVES RYUZAKI!" Eiji said into a mega-phone to add to his already abnormally loud voice. Then Momo grabbed his ear and yelled angrily at Eiji many cruel things to Eiji. Then he paused as if to compute what had awakened him. And slowly a smirk grew onto his face.

"Oh really?" Momo asked sadistically rolling the R's and L's nice and long.

Ryoma began to turn abundantly red in the face. Why did he have to have such snoopy senpai?

"You know what this means right?" Momo smirked, "It means that at he needs to sweep her off of her feet next week at her birthday party!"

"That's a great idea!" Eiji and Oishi both said, their eyes sparkling in admiration at their 'brilliant' teammate.

"Absolutely not!" Ryoma informed them crossing his arms over his chest, trying to prove his point.

"Oh yes you are," Oishi said in a fierce motherly tone, tapping his foot on the floor and shaking his finger at Ryoma.

"That's right Ochibi," Eiji agreed copying his teammate's motions, "It is your responsibility to Ryuzaki-chan."

Ryoma sighed, he had no choice, once Eiji made up his mind there was no way that it could be changed.

"Fine, what do you want me to do?" Ryoma asked impatiently. Oishi smiled in a pleased way, Momo continued to smirk, and Eiji engulfed him into a huge hug.

"Yea! I'm so happy for you! You and Sakuno are finally getting together! It took you long enough!" Eiji yelled, squeezing his 'Ochibi' to death. Momo and Oishi just sweat dropped.

"Hey, Eiji, if you keep on doing that than there will be no Echizen for Sakuno so get together with!" Oishi remarked.

"Yea," Momo agreed, "if you want to strangle him, strangle him after the first date." Ryoma growled, which only lead to the laughter of his unfeeling senpai.

"Okay, Ryoma, your training will start soon," Oishi stated rather bluntly.

"What?!" Ryoma yelped. There was no way this was happening.

"You are right Oishi-senpai, we need to train him! We only have a few days!" Momo yelped thinking of all that needed to be done, "Okay, we need to do his hair, clothes, gifts, and we should probably get Inui-senpai in on this too, he can tell us probabilities and such."

"What? There is no way I'm going to go through with that!"

"Yes we should," Kikumaru agreed, "Inui is good at that kind of thing."

"I said that there is no way that I'm going to do that!" Ryoma repeated like at two years old not getting his way. Just then a mysterious girl with the name tag 'Nakima-chan' appeared on the roof with the for tennis prodigies. Her eyes were narrow with a fury.

"If you don't do it, then I'm going to get your father and brother in on the story too!" she yelled at a dazed group of boys, singling out the shortest one. He gulped.

"Fine! I'll do it, just don't bring my brother and father in on this!" Ryoma cried. But by then the mysterious girl was gone, all that was left was a small box of pocky.

"Oh! Pocky!" the raccoon tennis player cried, but to his dismay, the box was empty.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he cried to his golden partner, who tried to comfort his friend as best as he could.

Ryoma saw this as an opportunity to escape; he slowly picked up his tennis bag and crept to the door. To bad for him his burger loving teammate found him out.

"Ryoma!" Momo called out.

'Shoot,' the prince thought.

"Sunday at five o'clock your training begins," Ryoma opened the door and stepped over the thresh hold, "And Ryoma …"

The annoyed boy froze to show he was listening, "You really are so young."

And with that the door slammed.

* * *

"Fuji-senpai," the boy turned to find the president of his teammate's fan club grinning behind him, "Our plan for sabotage begins tomorrow."

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	6. Training

Dear Readers,

I'm happy to say that I've figured out what I want the ending to be. Sorry if you do now like the ending. About two more chapters left. I hope that you enjoy this chapter!

chu!

nakima-chan

* * *

It was a sunny morning and Ryoma waited at his home for his 'sensei' to arrive.

'_This will not go well,' _Ryoma predicted as he saw three teenagers biking up to him.

"Ryoma, are you read to prepare to train?" Eiji asked as Ryoma hopped onto the back of Momo's bike.

"Sure," he mumbled nonchalantly, much to Momo's dislike.

"Don't be so light about this. I hear that you have some competition!" Ryoma almost fell off the bike. Competition? Who would be dumb enough to compete against him?

"Yes," Oishi agreed gravely, "I heard that too. But no one would tell me who it was …"

"… They would only say that he was going to make his move at her birthday party," the partner finished. It was silent for awhile.

Ryoma felt something at the pit of his stomach. He imagined Sakuno's face. And thought of how much he'd changed. He thought of all of the time she had given _him_ to make_ his_ move, and how stupid he was to not see what he had.

"Where are we going first?" Ryoma asked, trying to keep his cool.

"We are going to get you a hair cut," Momo replied.

"Don't worry it is only a trim," Oishi smiled maternally at the boy who was currently hoping that was all they would do to his hair.

"Do you like your cut?" Eiji asked as they exited the shop and headed toward their bikes.

"Hn," he replied. He actually didn't see what the big deal was. His hair was just hair. Although he did admit that the hair people new what they were doing.

"I think that Ryuzaki-san will love it!" Oishi commented while unlocking his bike. Ryoma resisted the urge to pull down his cap as he smiled a small, genuine smile. He hoped that none of them would notice. But of course Momo did.

'_Ah, so young,'_ he thought as he mounted he bike.

"Off to the mall!" Eiji punched his fist into the air and all of them were off.

A few minutes into the ride Ryoma noticed that Oishi was starting to look worried.

"Oishi-senpai, is there something wrong?" Ryoma asked in his way.

"Not exactly, we need to meet Inui-san at the mall, but I think that we may be late," he replied in a wary tone.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. It isn't like he expects us to be on time. Right now he is probably saying something like, 'Probability they will be on time, zero percent'" Eiji mimicked Inui's voice so well that all for boys went into laughing fits.

Little did they now that at the mall Inui was actually saying, "Probability that that Eiji-senpai is mimicking me, one hundred percent."

* * *

"Have you been waiting long Inui-san?" Oishi asked as they met up with the data loving teammate.

"I've only been waiting for ten minutes and twelve point five two seconds too long," Inui replied in a monotone voice.

"That's our Inui, always so precise and witty," Momo patted Inui on the back.

"What do you want us to focus on first?" Eiji asked energetically, ready to do anything. Inui took out a thin note book with the label **Ryuzaki Sakuno**.

"You have a file for Sakuno?" the rest of the eyes widened as Inui's focused on some tidbit about Sakuno's life.

"Of course, you never know what will come in handy. No serious notes, just observations after knowing her for so long. For example, I know that Ryuzaki-san is when it is sunny and has an optimistic attitude. She rarely forgets her friend's birthdays. She is extremely clumsy, very modest, and overly humble. The list goes on." Inui closed the book and took out another much thicker book with the label **Pairing Probability**.

"You have a book on the pairings of the tennis team?" their eyes got even wider.

"Yes, sadly I have nothing better to do between my training and gathering data, so I've come up with equations on match-making. Most of these are dead ends, but I did manage to work out Momo's equation," Everyone stared at Momo, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm in the middle of the equation for Ryuzaki-san, it was a little hard, but the equation should be done in a few days," Inui continued.

"You still haven't answered my question Inui!" Eiji was anxious now.

"We start with his outfit," Inui replied, "Then we work on the gift."

Ryoma began walk into the closest store. Before he could enter he was tackled by Eiji and Momo.

"Don't go into that store, are you crazy?" Momo asked.

"Going into that store sends the wrong message to anyone who sees you," Eiji cried.

Ryoma looked up ate the sign of the store that he was walking into. He'd never heard of this store, but he suddenly noticed that it was obnoxiously pink and was full of females.

"Who is she? And what is her secret?" he mumbled, and then his eyes traveled to the window, and immediately shifted them back. He turned red. This seemed to be a store that his dad would like.

"Why don't you just let us do the shopping?" Oishi suggested, hoping to avoid any future embarrassment.

"Yeah," Ryoma agreed. He had his mind made up. He was going to mail-order his clothes from then on.

* * *

Hours later, the five of them had gone to many stores and picked out a satisfactory outfit and the perfect present for Sakuno. In other words, they were pooped.

"I think that we should all go home now," Ryoma suggested. Within five minutes all of them had left for home.

They didn't know that somewhere in the same city, there was a girl and a genius conspiring against the plan that they had worked so hard to make.

And if Inui had known, he would have said that it had a one hundred percent chance of succeeding.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!

chu!

nakima-chan


	7. She chose Fuji

Hi! I decided to make two endings, this one is for fuji lovers, the other is for ryoma lovers. Please read both and see which you like best. thanks for reading

* * *

It was finally the day of the party. Sakuno didn't know what to do. She was so excited. She and Tomo had decided on her outfit for the occasion, a white halter top and a denim mini skirt. Very simple and very appropriate for Sakuno.

"How do I look?" Sakuno asked. The only two people in the room took a good look at her.

"You're going to make the guys _plotz _Sakuno-chan," Tomo reassured her, giving her a thumbs up. She had after all chosen the outfit for her . . . with the help of a certain senpai.

"You better not get pregnant," was her grandmothers reply.

"Obaa-chan!"

"I'm just kidding," her grandmothers smirked, "But if you did ever get pregnant, get ready for an earful."

"Yes," Sakuno replied.

There was a knock at the door. And there was a sudden panic in the room.

"Oh no! I haven't even done my hair yet! Tomo-chan, please entertain the guests while I finish . . . I'm such a terrible hostess," she added as she ran up the stairs.

Tomo sat up and walked nonchalant to the door. She knew that the person wouldn't mind if she came out a little late, in fact he had come half an hour early. When Tomo finally reached the door she opened it slowly, as if she was savoring the screeching sound the door made against the oil-deprived hinges.

"Fuji-senpai! I'm so happy that you could make it. Let me take your coat," an overly-happy voice tackled the unlucky boy at the door.

"Nice to see you too," the rehearsed lines flowed out of his mouth, "Where is Sakuno-chan?"

"She is upstairs fixing up her hair," Tomo replied, "You may sit in the kitchen with Ryuzaki-sensei. I think that Sakuno-chan will need me to help her."

"Sure," he answered.

"Sakuno-chan I'm coming in to help you with your hair, okay?" Tomo cheerfully opened the door. On the bed she found a crying Sakuno clutching a piece of paper in her hands.

"Sakuno-chan what is wrong?"

Sakuno weakly handed the piece of paper to her friend.

"I can't read it, it is in English," Tomo quickly said. As she lifted her head something caught her eye, a plane ticket to LAX, scheduled for tomorrow.

"Sakuno . . . are you serious?" Tomoka felt guilt surge through her body. But it subsided with relief, now she wouldn't have to see Sakuno's heart break, "Are you going to tell them?"

Sakuno shook her head, no. She tried her best to hold back her tears, and began to put her hair up, half of it in a bun and the rest of it curled.

"Let's not talk about it Tomo-chan, I want to enjoy my last night in Japan."

The night was gorgeous. Many people came to wish Sakuno a happy 17th birthday. Everyone was having a wonderful time and Sakuno appeared to be having a nice time too, but there was something wrong . . . Ryoma-kun wasn't there.

She spent her night laughing and dancing with various partners, but there was a little disappointment in the corner of her heart, nagging at her.

"Sakuno-chan, are you alright?" Sakuno looked up and was stolen by a breathtaking presence. She was victim to the crystal pools of light that were Fuj- … err Shusuke-kun's eyes.

"Shusuke-kun?" she uttered. He smiled again. She tried to think of a time that he wasn't smiling as he took her hand, asking her to dance. She felt herself melt as a slow song went on, and their bodies began to sway chastely back and forth. Meanwhile, there where a few anxious senpai watching the couple sway in harmony.

"Where is Ochibi?" Kikumaru asked in the lowest tone he possible could, "After all that do you think that he had second thoughts?"

"No, no," Momoshiro shook his head at the thought, "Echizen may be dense, but he is also stubborn . . . once he sets his mind on something there is no turning back for him there is something else."

"What could possibly be wrong?" Oishi was fretting and fretting. Like a doting mother would over a troublesome child.

"May I intrude?" Inui interrupted, pushing his glasses up, letting them blind all of the party goers around him. "I think that I know where he is . . . and you aren't going to like it."

Well, there he was. In all of his years Ryoma had never felt so mad. He was on his way to a party and what happens? He gets chased up a tree by a plethora of fan girls, that's what.

He had been in that tree for hours, trying to think up ways to amuse the horde of girls, but there was no getting past them. He sighed and looked into where the sunset had been so many hours ago. There was no way that he was going to back down now.

"Hey!" there was a cry from the behind that almost scared that cat-eyed boy out of the tree. And it surely scared the stupid fan girls away. Talk about devotion …

He turned to see his savior and found it to be none other than his Momo-senpai riding his trusted bike.

"Momo-senpai, thanks …"

"No time for apology, get on the back of the bike . . . Fuji-senpai is planning something . . . it is bad news for you."

Back at the house it was a quieting. Sakuno was busily wrapping cake for people to take home, while most of the guests were saying their goodbyes.

"Good night Sakuno!" An embraced Sakuno tightly, "I'm so happy for you!"

Ann released a confused Sakuno and winked at her. Ann quickly realized just how dense Sakuno was and changed the subject.

"So some of the girls are getting together next Saturday to practice a little . . . do you want to join? We can play doubles!" Sakuno's smile almost failed. Next Saturday she wouldn't be here.

"Um . . . I have some stuff to do next Saturday, maybe some other time," Sakuno hated not telling Ann, but how could she say anything?

She finished saying good-bye to the guests, with only one remaining. Shusuke-kun, he was sitting on the sofa, with a look in his eyes and a present beside him.

He gestured for her to come and sit next to him, and she obeyed. For some reason she felt her cheeks warm when she remembered her dance with him.

"Sakuno-chan, there is something that I've been meaning to ask you," Shusuke, for the first time in his life, was fidgeting. He was more fidgety than a child on there first day at kindergarten.

She wasn't like the others that was certain. This wasn't the first time he had asked a girl to be his. The others were girls that had 'confessed' their 'love' for him. Of course he didn't have the heart to say no, so he just went along with it until they tired of him. Their love was shallow.

But she, Sakuno, wasn't a random person. He had known her ever since middle school. They hadn't talked a lot, but she was one of the closest girls to him.

She was perfect. Her beauty wasn't just skin-deep. Her personality was as original and pure as a diamond.

But there was one thing that made Shusuke want Sakuno more than anything in the world. She had a love already.

Echizen Ryoma, his rival. She had loved him ever since she had started middle school. She had showered her with affection and care.

Echizen liked her too, Shusuke knew, but that wasn't going to stop him. Echizen had had his chance, and he missed it. Now it was Shusukes' turn, and nothing was going to stop him.

"Sakuno, would you go out with me?" he pulled out of his pocket a beautiful tennis bracelet. It was simple, but in the center there was a crystal sakura flower that made it wonderful to the eye.

Shusuke had this all planned out. Get her alone. Ask her out. Give her the bracelet. And glimpse at her with his crystal blue eyes.

It was all too perfect, who could possibly resist that? If Inui had looked at his plan he would have given it 120 chance of it succeeding.

Meanwhile, the victim sat there in shock. What was she to do? Why was she just sitting there?

This wasn't right. What about Ryoma-kun? Hadn't she been pining for him all of these years?

She thought of all of the good things that she knew about Shusuke. He would definitely be a good match. The sensible side of her brain told her to say yes.

She opened her mouth so reply, but then she remembered. Tomorrow . . . plane . . . America . . . and her mouth went dry.

How ironic, when she finally wants to say yes to someone, to open up her heart, the world just takes that away from her.

"No, I can't," Sakuno replies, almost in tears.

"Why not?" Shusuke is almost in a panic, how could she say no? But he tries not to show it, keeping his eyes closed and smile fixed.

But before she could answer a certain boy stumbled through the door, short of breath and eyes wide at the scene before him: sitting with Fuji-sempai knees touching, and on the verge of tears.

"Ryoma-kun . . ."

"Ryuzaki . . ."

Both were wide eyed in wonder … and before anyone could think, Ryoma was out the door again. The tears that Sakuno had been trying to hold back for so long overflowed, smearing the mascara, letting the black lines run.

"Sakuno-chan, are you going to be okay?" he gently placed his arm on her petite shoulder.

"Shusuke-kun, I can I tell you a secret," Ryuzaki tried once more to fight back the tears . . . if only for a moment.

"You can tell me anything you want, even if I don't want to hear it," he replied, thinking that she was going to tell him something like, _'I'll always be in love with Ryoma-kun.'_

Sakuno inhaled and exhaled.

"I'm moving to America."

"Shusuke-kun?"

"How long will you be gone?" his eyes were downcast and she could no longer see his face through his bangs.

"Obaa-san is making me leave for a year, she says it is a good opportunity for me, but –"

"You should go, Sakuno-chan."

"You go . . . and I'll wait for you."

Sakuno looked up and met his eyes; they were full of love and sincerity.

"I love you, Sakuno-chan."

* * *

Owari


	8. She chose Ryoma

* * *

This is the ending for Ryoma lovers. Enjoy.

Ryoma sat idly on his porch waiting apprehensively for Momoshiro to arrive on his bike to escort him to the party. Mentally he was checking off things that he would need for his evening.

'_Present … check … Bathing suit … check … towel … check … am I missing anything?'_

But before he could finish his train of thought Momo came riding down the pathway.

"Are you ready Echizen?" Ryoma

That afternoon people arrived one by one, all clad in swim wear and sun tan lotion. Everyone was out in the pool having a fine time, except for Sumire, who was sunbathing in a modest one piece.

'_Things like this makes me realize that Sakuno doesn't have many girl friends,' _Sumire thought to herself, _'More than half of the people here are male, and not just male . . . they are quite handsome also, I guess I won't have to worry much about her love life.'_

There were only a handful of girls there. There was Sakuno of course, in a simple pink bikini. There was Tomoka, who wore a daring 'one piece' – a bikini connected with a single string. And then there was Ann, who was in a halter tankini and with a pleated bottom, almost like a tennis uniform.

As beautiful as the girls were, they weren't getting much attention as the normal person would think. This is because the boys at the party were extremely competitive.

Everyone at the party used to go to Seigaku, excluding Akira – who came to see Ann – and Kippei – who came to make sure that no one tried to do anything to his little sister.

All the male guests were in the middle of one of there infamous challenges, this time the sport was water volley ball. It was the standard rules; losers drink Inui's 'Penal Tea.' The final match was at hand and half dozen boys lay unconscious on the patio.

The pairs for the final match were Fuji and Ryoma vs. Momo and Kaido. The score was tied and the tension was raised, the last play had been made: a spike by Momo. It was Fuji's territory, but he let the ball go.

"Fuji-senpai, you did that on purpose!" Ryoma was definitely irritated.

"I wanted to try this batch; I heard that it is triple the strength!" Fuji smiled before gulping down the inedible goop, and immediately passed out. Ryoma followed seconds after, and they were both set to bed in Sakuno's room.

The hours passed by and the night seemed to cool everyone down. After the contest all of the 'men' had started to eat and the girls found time to sneak away and do there hair and dress for the evening.

"Hey, do you mind if I borrow those shoes?" Ann asked Sakuno, straying at Sakuno's boots. The girls were in Sumire's room getting dressed, Sakuno and Ann were getting dressed in front of the mirror. And Tomoka was putting the finishes touches on her ensemble.

"Yeah, the boots would go nice on with your shirt and jeans," Sakuno replied, "Hey can you help me when you are done?"

"Yup, can you help me lace the back though?"

"Of course," Sakuno began to help lace when Tomoka strolled out of the bathroom.

"Don't you think that that is a bit much?" Ann asked, raising her eyebrows at Tomoka's questionable outfit.

Tomoka wore a shirt that barely covered her stomach and a miniskirt that covered the top of her thighs. Her hair was parted to the left, in order to make her seem more sophisticated. Her face carried a noticeable amount of make up, her arms filled with bangles and her neck weighed down with necklaces. She definitely looked ready to party . . . maybe a little overly eager.

"I think that my outfit is just as modest as yours," Tomoka replied haughtily.

Ann wore a white halter top and boot cut jeans, hair let down and loose. She just applied some blush and lip gloss, she wasn't all that into the make up like Tomoka was. She wore a tennis bracelet that her brother had given her, and on her ears were simple hoops.

"Please don't argue with each other. It is my birthday, please try to be happy," Sakuno begged her two friends.

"Right," Ann agreed, "Let's just get you ready for the party."

"Yeah, we can't leave the guys without us for too long," Tomoka giggled and the mood was light once more.

The real beauty of the night was going to be Sakuno. She wore a kimono with a simple pattern. Half of her hair held in a bun with intricate chopsticks, the rest of it curled into tight ringlets.

"Your face is so nice that we don't have to put any make up on you, your skin is so beautiful already" Ann stood and looked at her handy-work, "Sakuno-chan, you look so beautiful!"

"Yes, very beautiful," Tomoka agreed coolly.

"Thank you," Sakuno blushed.

Down at the pool the boys were getting the pool ready for the evening. There were little boats with candles, paper lanterns, and wonderful food all over.

Kikumaru and the Golden Pair were sitting by the side of the pool. They faced the setting sun and gently let paper boat into the lake and lit the candles inside.

"Do you think that Ryoma will wake up soon?" Momo had a bit of a worried face on him.

"Of course he will, he is the most stubborn kid I know," Oishi replied.

"If anyone can do it Ochibi can!" Eiji agreed.

"That is where you are wrong," Inui interrupted, "The juice he had was triple the strength that the normal tea is, the only one who can revive from it quickly is-"

"Hey is there anything that you need?" Fuji asked the four clueless tennis players. He was obviously feeling in top shape.

"You're better already?" Momo asked in shock.

"Yes, the tea was actually quite good!" Fuji replied contentedly, "Is there anything you need?"

"No we're fine," Oishi finally replied, recovering from the awe.

"Okay," and with that Fuji left to find someone to help.

Silence spread by the pool-side, until it was broken with the bearer of bad news.

"The chance the Fuji is up to something is 89 . . . and the chance that Osakada is in cahoots is 100," Inui informed his former teammates.

"Why would Fuji do something terrible like that? He is a good guy!" Oishi replied contradicting his friend.

"Do you want the facts?" Inui asked pulling out a small palm sized notebook entitled 'Fuji/Oskada Conspiracy.'

"Where did that come from?" they all gasped in horror at how creepy the whole thing was.

"I started it after Fuji purposefully lost the match, which by the way is the first fact," Inui pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, letting it catch the lights' reflection. He inhaled, readying his lungs for the long explanation.

"Fact two: Fuji requested the game and pairings,

Fact three: Fuji requested the extra strength tea,

Fact four: Fuji and Oskada seem chummy,

Fact five: They've been meeting every other day planning something

Fact six: Oskada didn't seem surprised that Fuji didn't get the volley ball

Fact seven: Fuji is in love with Sakuno-"

"WHAT?" the trio interrupted.

"Let me finish," Inui sighed irritatedly, "Fact eight: Oskada has been eyeing Ryoma more creepily than usually."

He closed the notebook, and placed it in his pocket.

"Now do you believe me?" Inui grinned.

"How did you know all of that?" Eiji wailed.

"It's obvious."

"Fuji is in love with Sakuno?" Momo repeated in shock.

"Yes."

"What are we going to do?" Oishi murmured.

"We can't do anything, it is all up to Sakuno now," Inui tried to look wise, but in reality, he looked a bit idiotic.

"Surely you have a probability of her choice!" they all cried.

"Of course I do, you just have to sit back and enjoy the evening. It is going to be very . . . entertaining," Inui finished sadistically.

That night was too beautiful to describe with words of any kind. The candle boats and paper lanterns gave the place a glow. Some ate food. Others talked. And a few brave souls danced, yes danced.

At first there was a very fast beat playing and they all gathered on the lawn dancing awkwardly. The girls were all dancing in the middle and the guys seemed to surround them, it was quite a sight.

Although the night was beautiful and exciting, Sakuno couldn't help but steal glances at her bedroom window praying that Ryoma would wake up and join her.

Then the time finally came, the moment of truth. The most crucial point in Fuji's plan: the slow dance.

Tomoka claimed that she was tired and had to rest.

Akira and Momo were fighting over who go to dance with Ann, while Kippei got himself ready to assault the one who won.

Her friends gone, she was the only person on the dance floor.

"Would you like to dance?" Fuji whispered into her ear scaring her.

"Of course," Sakuno replied, turning red yet again.

They sway clumsily back and forth, due to the fact that Sakuno was in a kimono. Eventually the got used to it and they flowed together was one. They laughed and smiled at each other as they swayed back and forth on the seemingly barren 'dance floor,' all the while eight pairs of eyes stay glued to them, watching their every move.

"Sakuno you don't seem to be fully enjoying yourself," Fuji noted, catching her peeking at her bedroom window, "He is fine Sakuno-chan, you should enjoy your evening," Fuji pulled her closer, not wanting to let her go.

"I'm sorry Shusuke-kun, I'm just worried for Ryoma-kun. He has been unconscious for such a long time-"

"Hush," Fuji murmured amorously, "He has been through worse scrapes before."

"Shusuke-kun, I-"

"Sakuno-chan, will you be my girlfriend?" he reached smoothly into his pocket, revealing a small box, he pushed it gently into her hand.

She opened it and inside wasn't jewelry, but a picture. A candid picture of her and under her picture it read, 'Beauty and Grace Command the world.'

She felt the full impact of just how romantic this moment was, just how perfect it was. But in her heart, there was no room to love Fuji in that was.

"I'm sorry Shusuke-kun, but-"Sakuno was on about to cry.

"Don't cry, I'll be okay," Fuji knew he had lost, and that he had to do the chivalrous thing. He kissed her chastely on the cheek and held her face to look into his eyes, "Go to him."

Without a word, she thanked him and scurried off.

Not long after she left Tomoka replaced her presence on dance floor.

"What are you thinking Fuji-senpai, you just let her walk out of your life so easily?" Tomoka scolded, "You need to be persistent! You need to-"

"Oskada-san is it worth having her love me if I hurt her to get it?" his eyes pierced through her, "I do this because I know she would be happier with him, maybe you should do the same."

"Good bye," and with that Fuji left a distraught Tomoka alone, in shock.

At a nearby table there were four boys smiling at the scene.

"That was just like a drama," Eiji said enthusiastically, "I give it five stars!"

"The drama isn't just over yet," Inui reminded him.

When Sakuno reached her room she opened the door and found a struggling Ryoma trying to roll out of her bed.

"Ryoma-kun," He turned and saw her.

"Ryuzaki I'm sorry I'm not at the party . . . I tried my best to wake up, but it seems that my body is temporarily paralyzed," Ryoma stammered, trying to find the right words. He tried to move again, but it was all in vain.

"Let me help," Sakuno rushed over offering her assistance, helping him position him comfortably.

"Ryoma-kun . . . thanks you for coming to my party."

"Sakuno-chan, I have a gift for you inside of my pocket, could you get it?" Ryoma tried not to act nervous at the strange request.

She obeyed him, slowly and carefully reaching her hand inside of his pocket retrieving the present.

"Open it."

Again she did as she was told. She savored the sound that the wrapper made when she crinkled the paper.

She had to catch her breath when she saw it, an Italian charm bracelet, with seventeen charms for her birthday.

"The first charm is a tennis ball," Ryoma explained, "The second is an onigiri for that time you made me a lunch and took it away, one is Ponta for all those times you offered drinks and I ended up paying, fourth is a cat like Karupin, next is a girl with braids, which represents you, then a racket to match the tennis ball, there is the kanji for blush since you constantly are blushing, then they are spaced out with eight hearts and at the center is your name."

She really liked it. She could tell that he'd put a lot of thought into it. She tenderly slid it onto her wrist.

"Thank you Ryoma-kun," she bowed her head humbly.

"You don't need to bow your head," Ryoma said embarrassed, "And I'm going to get you a charm every year as long as we're together."

Sakuno felt a mix of shock and happiness.

"When did you ask me out?" Sakuno smirked.

"I don't need to," Ryoma retorted cockily, and the both laughed together lovingly, not knowing of the four boys on the other side of the door listening to it all

* * *

Owari


End file.
